A Sunny Winter Night
by masonxy
Summary: A short love story of a Glaceon, Krysta, and a Leafeon,
1. Krysta's Stone

Chapter 1: Krysta's Stone

The shade of the forest was cool and humid. tiny rays of light filtered through the overlapping branches. there was a light breeze that blew around fallen leaves of the Apricorn trees. Krysta slowly explored the forest floor, sniffing furiously for anything of interest. As an Eevee, her sense of smell was excellent, in tune with the elements around her. The dirt had a powerful,near overwhelming, earthy aroma, but she detected the distinct scent of a Family of Furrets and Sentrets. Like a second vision she sniffed out their individual footprints that told her that they were headed towards the lake, no doubt taking advantage of the last days of autumn before the snow began falling. Deep beneath the earth she faintly detected the musk of a Diglett, probably taking a nap in his little cave. She could detect everything, except what she wanted most. An element stone.

Unlike most Pokemon, Eevee's like her had the unique ability to evolve into a variety of different forms, each a user of different elements. At a certain age, young Eevee's were given permission by the clan leader to hunt for element stones, or train to evolve. It was a great honor and achievement to be able to evolve, and Krysta so longed to grow into one of the forms.

Three years after her coming of age and Krysta was still searching for a way to evolve. She was already sixteen, far too old to still be an Eevee. But she had been unlucky in her pursuit. One by one her fellow Eevee's evolved. Her best friend Yvana came upon a Fire stone while exploring a neighboring cave. She evolved into a beautiful Flareon with burning red and fluffy orange fur, radiating like a passionate blazing flame.

Even her little sister Tami had found a water stone while playing with the Lotads and Psyducks in the lake. Krysta always knew her sister would become a Vaporeon. Tami would be out by the lake more often than at home. Now she had a finned tale and could breath under water, a perfect match.

Krysta sighed. While she was happy for the two of them, she couldn't help but be envious. Her searches had been in vain for so long that some of the others began rumoring whether she ever would. Growing up Krysta had trouble learning new moves. She was the only one in her training lessons who failed to learn shadow ball like the others. She was teased often for being weak and useless, and it hurt despite constant reassurance from her friends and family.

She shook the thoughts out of her head and continued her search, keeping her nose low to the ground. If only she could just find one. Any one would do, as long as she could evolve and prove she could be just as strong as the others.

She stopped suddenly as a strange scent filled her nostrils. It wasn't like anything she had smelled before. The scent felt strong, not with odor but with power. Quickly she dug her paws into the ground, scraping away the soft earth. If there was one thing she could be proud of, it was her digging. She loved burrowing under the ground, making long tunnel systems and finding strange and interesting objects long forgotten and buried. Others had made fun of her, calling it a primitive talent, but she didn't care. Today this primitive talent is going to get me a stone, she thought to herself confidently.

Perhaps she was a little to confident. In her haste to unearth what she thought might be an element stone, she failed to notice that it was moving with incredible speed up toward her. Krysta was already fully submerged in the dirt when without warning, something hit her so hard it popped her out of the ground sailing a few feet in the air, landing in a nearby Oran bush. Her head dazed, she stumbled dizzily out of the bush, trying to figure out what had hit her. At first all she could see was a big, yellow, round ball next to her tunnel. But when it unfurled and stood up, she recognized him right away.

"Oh goodness, I am so sorry! I was going too fast. Is anyone hurt?" The Sandshrew asked worriedly in the wrong direction. Krysta took this opportunity to pounce.

"Gotchya Doba!" She laughed tackling him onto his belly.

"Ack! Krysta you scared me!" Doba yelped, startled and flailing. Krysta hopped of his back, letting him stand up. On his feet Doba was twice as tall as her, his shadow completely covering her. He brushed the dirt off himself. "I'm really glad I only hit you." He said smiling. His eyes were in her general direction but not completely focused on her, for Doba was blind.

She had met Doba when she was very small. Krysta had accidentally come across an underground home in one of her digging journeys. It turned out to house a family of Sandshrews and Sandslashes. They had their first meeting when Doba tripped over her. They shared a good laugh and shortly became digging buddies.

"What do you mean only hit me?" She asked, hitting him lightly in the belly.

"Well, if I had hit anyone else that would have been embarrassing" he said laughing. "But I was pretty sure I felt your foot steps coming this way."

Doba had learned to tap into the earth and feel little vibrations made by Pokemon on the surface. He had taught her this little trick and they trained together. While she was now fairly accurate with this skill, she was nowhere near as good as Doba.

"What's gotten you so excited Doba?" She asked. He must have had big news to be traveling so fast.

"Wha? Oh right! I remember that you told me you were looking for an element stone?" Krysta froze.

"Yes. Don't tell me.." Doba's face lit up.

"One second I dropped it somewhere." He plunged his sharp claws into the earth and in an instant he was under and gone. Krysta started hopping for joy. Finally! It was happening! She could finally take the next step in her life! She could bare wait. Doba popped back out of the ground Seconds later.

"Here I found this!" He held out the stone and laid it on the ground. Krysta could feel the power emanating from the stone. It's aura pulsed and it felt warm on her fur. She approached the stone her heart beat racing like crazy as she placed her paw onto it. But then her smile faded when she took a closer look at it. It was a deep translucent purple gem, near black. Shadows within it swirled and formed clouds.

"Oh..Doba." She said

"Eh? Is it not working?" He asked sensing sadness in her voice. Krysta shook her head.

"I can't use this one. It's a dusk stone." She felt like crying. She was so close, she could almost taste sweet victory. But it was too good to be true. She held back her tears, not wanting to upset Doba, but he was already starting to cry.

"Aw. I felt a strange power coming from it so I thought... I couldn't see what it was so I just guessed...I'm really sorry!" He sobbed. Doba curled himself into a ball and cried.

"Aw Doba! Don't be sad. It's alright, really." She patted him trying to coax him to come back out. She wasn't upset with Doba. He had his heart in the right place and it wasn't his fault that he had grabbed the wrong one. No, she was only disappointed in herself for getting so worked up.

After a while, Doba calmed down and unrolled himself. They picked some Oran berries for lunch and sat in the shade of a giant oak. Krysta listened to Doba tell stories of his explorations and the Pokemon he met along the way. He had met Sableye, who were experts on, no, obsessed with special gemstones.

"They love gems so much I think their eyes turned into diamonds."

"Gross!" Krysta stuck her tongue.

"Yeah, but they really know what their talking about. He helped me get the dusk stone. He said there's even more up in the icy cliffs."

Krysta stared out towards the the high mountains. They were bare with no snow, but that would change in a day or two.

"Our winter journey festival will be soon" she said, her gaze lost in the sky, watching the clouds slowly rolling in.

"I'm not familiar. Is that an Eevee thing?" Doba asked, popping a berry into his mouth.

"Yeah. It's a winter ritual to celebrate the coming of snow. We climb the snowy mountain to find a hidden cave. Through the cave leads to a little sanctuary that lies between the cliffs. I hear it's very beautiful." She sighed.

"You've never been?"

"Eevee's aren't allowed to make the journey. It's too dangerous they say. Besides, there's no way id be able to make it up there. My legs are too stubby to make it that far." Her ears flattened as she stared at her tiny little legs. Doba patted her.

"I wouldn't make it either. Those cliffs are solid rock, and ice. I'd freeze to death before I made a decent tunnel." Krysta nodded. She had thought of digging up the mountain herself, but harsh climate made it too risky. She drooped into more sadness. Doba tried to lighten her mood.

"Hey, remember when we dug tunnels under that Snorlax?" He asked. Her smile began coming back.

"Oh yeah, that was ages was so mad when he fell into that giant hole!" The two had wondered how many tunnels they could dig under the big Snorlax before he fell, digging nearly thirty before the ground finally gave way. They laughed together.

"Then he went right back to sleep again. You think he's still in there?"

"I think he's still asleep since then, I can hear his snore" It was a prank to remember for the poor unsuspecting Snorlax. She felt a tiny tremor in the ground and she popped up on to her feet. Her ears were up listening intently.

"Someone's coming" she said

"I felt it too," Doba said standing up. He put one hand to the ground, focusing on where the vibration had come from. Krysta focused too. She knew where it was coming from, but as for who she didn't. Doba stood up straight again.

"Oh hey...uh...it's that Leafeon. You know, Yvana's brother?"

"Davyn?!" Blood rushed to Krysta's cheeks digging quickly underground. A confused Doba burrowed after her. Krysta had dug a tiny air pocket where she sat curled up.

"What are you doing?" Krysta shushed Doba. She felt Davyn above her, slowly surveying the area. A few times he stepped over where she was hiding, and it made her nervous.

"Krysta? Are you out here?" She heard him call out. What was he doing here? How did he always know where she was? She felt him walking around, poking the ground.

"I can see your burrows! I know you're here!"

Doba poked her side. "You haven't told him yet, have you?" He asked.

"Shut up! What's there to tell?" She couldn't feel the vibrations anymore, but she wanted to be sure. She had lost track of where Davyn had gone.

"Is he still out there?" she whispered.

"Nope," Doba said rather quickly. Krysta let out a sigh of relief and dug her way up. She popped out of the ground, did a somersault in the air, and landed on all fours.

"Nice flip" Krysta froze, the color draining from her face. She looked up at Davyn who was smiling down on her. She felt herself wanting to shrink into nothing.

"Sorry Krysta. Hi Davyn!" Doba said with a mischievous smile, waving in their general direction. And in a swift dive he burrowed away.

"Doba, you traitor! Get back here!" She tried to dig away quickly, but it was too late. She felt herself being lifted up by the scruff of her neck.

"Hey! Let me go!" She cried, trying to escape.

"Say please, and ill drop you" Davyn said, his voice muffled but playful.

"Never! Ill kill you, you big jerk!" She yelled, flailing her limbs in all direction to try and loosen his grip. But his jaw held strong and after a minute she grew tired. She hung there motionless for a while. "Please let go of me," she said, her front limbs crossed and her face trying to hide an expression of defeat. He let her down gently. Krysta shook her fur and spin around to face him.

"You're a big mean jerk!" She growled, glaring up at him.

"Aw, you know I'm just teasing," he said, patting her reassuringly on the head. He was still smiling down at her and it made her furious. Davyn was only a few months older than her, but he treated her like a child. He had only become a Leafeon last spring during a trek through the dark forest. So now he stood tall to her and always teased her about it. It irritates her, even if she knew he didn't mean it. She hoped he didn't see her glowing cheeks.

She looked away from him. "Whadyu want?im very busy"

"Yea I can see that" Davyn replied looking around at all the holes she and Doba had dug. "Still no luck?"

"No, I've searched nearly everywhere. I haven't found anything for so long..." She sniffed. There were tears forming and she did what she could to suppress them.

"Do you need help?"

"N...no. I can find it on my own!" She said defiantly. It was one thing to get help from Doba, but from Davyn? They wouldn't leave her alone if they found out that Davyn had helped, that she couldn't do it on her own. Her tormentors would never let up. She worked her self up and couldn't control the tears.

"Hey, don't feel bad. I know you'll find it someday. Evolving isn't what it's cracked up to be really." He said.

"Your lying" she sobbed, laying on her belly, ears falling over her face. Evolving was the greatest honor for an Eevee. How dare he even suggest the lack of importance.

"Cheer up. I know you'll find one someday." Krysta felt Davyn nudge head. His fur was like warm sunlight, and felt comforting. Her tears dried up much to her surprise.

"Hey," he said. "I tell you what, let me take you somewhere further from this place. I know there must be stones further out in the unexplored wilderness. Let me bring you there. You can still find it yourself if you want."

She looked up from her tears. "You mean that?"

He nodded, his leaf swaying on his forehead.

"Point a direction, Ill take you"

She felt like smiling, but retained her emotions. "Well...if you insist. I guess it would be okay." She hopped onto his back without warning. He fell to his own stomach with an "oof"

"To the mountains!" Commanded pointing a paw in the direction. If there were any stones, they would be there. Doba has reliable sources.

"What?! Are you serious?" Davyn groaned. "Why on earth would you want to go that way? It's getting colder and snow may fall any moment." He shivered at the thought of cold.

"Hey, you promised me you would." She said smacking his side lightly. "Now mush, dog!" She would get back at him for picking her up like that. With a great sigh of regret, Davyn got up. Krysta wobbled on top of his back. She hugged him close, holding on tight. Davyn took a deep breath and took off. The two headed for the mountains at the speed of the wind.


	2. The Journey up the Mountain

Chapter 2: The Journey up the Mountain

Davyn had made good time to the bottom of the mountains. It took only ten minutes for him to run six miles across the forest terrain. Krysta had been clinging on to him for dear life with her eyes half closed, the wind rushing past her face. It was a thrilling ride with sharp turns around trees and jumps over various obstacles. She was lucky to have held on for so long.

"We're here!" Davyn said panting lightly.

Krysta opened one eye all the way, then the other. The cliffs loomed over them, grey and rocky with a few specks of green trees. The very peaks were not visible through thick grey clouds that hovered above. A cool chilling breeze blew in from the valleys and made her fur stand on end.

"You can let go of me now...I can't breathe," Davyn said.

Krysta flushed, loosening her grip on his abdomen. She rolled off him, plopping to the ground and quickly returning to her feet. Sniffing around, she sensed tiny auras emanating from the mountains. They were faint, but distinctly stronger than anywhere else she had searched. Doba was right, there were stones here.

She turned to face Davyn.

"Well then, I appreciate the ride. I no longer need your services. You may leave now and let me go on with my hunt," she said her head held high.

"You want me to leave? How will you get back home stubby legs?" He joked

She leered at him angrily.

"When I have found my stone, I will have the means to return on my own four legs."

"What if you don't find one?"

His words stung. She felt shadows falling over her eyes with a single bead of sweat sliding down from her head. Her little self confidence felt like it got punched in the gut. Though she tried to act natural, Davyn saw that he has upset her.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. It could snow heavily any minute now, and you might not find anything before then."

Krysta shivered in the chilling wind. As much as she didn't want to admit it, he was right.

"Fine, you can tag along. But don't forget that I'm the leader of this expedition! " she said, holding her head up proudly.

"Whatever you say Krysta," Davyn laughed, giving her a funny looking salute that made her angry and embarrassed.

"Just give me a second to warm up," he added. Krysta watched as Davyn concentrated, his eyes closed. After a moment of silence, she began to feel an aura emanating from his body. The aura grew larger until the two and their surroundings were engulfed in the invisible energy. It suddenly became much warmer and brighter. The sun peaked through the dark dense clouds, shining lovingly on them, like a sunny day in spring. Krysta relished in the warmth briefly her bushy tail swaying happily. She stretched her back out, relaxing a bit as the cold left her body. It was incredible that Davyn had the ability to control sunlight, she thought. she quickly turned around to see him giving her his usual sheepish smile.

"Show off..." She said quickly looking away. She put her nose to the ground, following a trail she hoped would lead to her stone.

The trail was steep and gravely. Pebbles occasionally got stuck between Krysta's toes. She shook them out, staying focused at the task at hand. The scent was growing stronger as they hiked further up the mountain. She sensed energies forking into different directions, and chose to follow the strongest of them all. Davyn trotted behind leisurely, rejuvenating the suns intensity from time to time. The clouds grew darker and were rolling in quick. Krysta worried that Davyn's prediction might come true. It felt like a curse upon her.

After an hour and a half of travel, Krysta collapsed onto her belly, exhausted. Her legs felt like rubber, and her fur was dripping with sweat.

Davyn came up to her.

"You okay Krysta?" He asked, nudging her lightly.

"I'm fine! I'm just taking a break," she said defiantly. Even after a moment, try as she might, she couldn't bring herself up. She was already so tired, and it irritated her. The scent was so strong that she could almost taste it. But she couldn't take another step, and she was parched.

She gave her nose a break and perked up her ears. Tree branches made a rippling sound as strong, howling winds blew pine needles to the ground. She heard distant snoring of a Noctowl, awaiting the sun to set. She listened around until her ears picked up the sound she was searching for. It was the sound of running water.

"There's a stream not far. A little to the right of where we are," she said.

"Thirsty? Can you get up?"

"Of course I can," she lied. She willed for her legs to get up, but they refused to support her weight, and she couldn't get more than a centimeter off the ground before plopping back down.

She felt herself being lifted as Davyn grabbed her by the scruff again.

"Damn it! Put me down..." She said slowly. She was too tired to yell, let alone complain. He carried her gingerly towards the stream. Krysta sighed, dangling from his jaws completely embarrassed. Despite her humiliation, she was really happy that Davyn was here with her. She was very grateful for his help, even though she wouldn't admit it.

Davyn gently lowered her near the stream bed. The water felt cool on Krysta's tongue, and she took big gulps. She stood up,feeling slightly better but still lacking the energy to continue the hike.

She looked around for Davyn and found him sitting patienty near a bare apricorn tree.

"Feeling better?" He asked, lowering his head to meet her level.

Krysta sat down in front of him.

"A bit. I don't know how much further I can go. I know it's there, I can feel it."

She couldn't believe how close she was, and yet her body felt like giving up already. She wondered what it would be like, when she finally found it; when she would finally put her paw on it and absorb its power. Would it feel exhilarating as the energy flowed through her veins? Would her transformation be painful? She didn't know what to think.

"What was it like?" she asked aloud.

"Was what like?"

"Evolving." She looked up at him with eyes pleading that he gave her an answer.

"It was... frightening," he said after some thought. "To be honest, I'm not even sure how it happened."

Krysta gave him a funny look.

"What do you mean?"

"It didn't happen the way the others did. I didn't find a stone."

_Evolution without a stone? Was that even possible?_

"So, how did it happen?" she asked.

"Well, I was exploring the darker parts of the forest. During my search I stumbled upon an angry Breloom who was sitting on top of a very mossy boulder. I had no fight with him, but he went after me for no real reason."

Krysta nodded.

"So you two fought?"

Davyn nodded back.

"I was scared. This guy was three times taller than I was. And his claws. They were so quick. I barely evaded his punches. Eventually, I took him down. He fell knocked out. I swear there were swirls in his eyes." He took a minute to find a way to explain what happened next. "Then...I just evolved."

Krysta didn't believe him.

"Just like that? You can't be serious." She thought he was just teasing her again, but he nodded with sincerity in his eyes.

"I wish I knew...otherwise I would have told you how sooner. Then we could have both been Leafeons together."

Krysta moaned sadly. She would have very much liked to evolve with Davyn. The two late bloomers they were called, the last two to find their evolutionary forms. They had said they would find it together, but Davyn had gone and done it ahead of her. Since then, she hadn't spoken much to him until now. She felt bad about negelcting her friend out of jealousy.

She rolled onto her back to look up at the tree. Rays of the intensified sun shown through the open space between leaves and branches. She spotted a lone, pink apricorn dangling daintily on a branch. It was on the verge of falling. An energizing apricorn could be just what she needed.

"Hey Davyn? Can you reach that for me?"

Davyn looked to where her paw was pointing and spotted the giant pink sphere.

"Hmm, take a few steps back ," he said. She rolled back onto her feet and moved away from him. In a near instant, the leaves on the ground began to move around him. They twirled and spun as they orbited him until they all stopped, frozen and suspended in the air. Krysta watched with amazement. Like magic, Davyn sent the leaves up to the apricorn branch. The flurry of leaves moved so fastans precise, they cut through the branch and the apricorn fell to the ground undamaged.

"Impressed?" He asked, noticing her look of admiration. Her face soured. What was with thst smug grin he had. Jerk...

But before she could respond to him there was a loud crack from above them. A piece of the apricorn branch fell down, directly smacking Davyn on his head.

It took a moment for it to register.

"Gwahh!" He cried out in pain, clutching his head with his paws. Krysta failed to keep a straight face. She burst out laughing as Davyn whimpered and rubbed his head. She pulled a big piece of dry bark and soaked it in the freezing cold stream.

"Here, hold still," she said, placing the wet bark on his head. She held it there for a while, patting a whimpering Davyn. After a while, the swelling went down, and the redness was gone.

"There, all better you big baby," Krysta teased.

Davyn sighed with a look of relief mixed with embarrassment.

Davyn sliced the fruit, handing a half to Krysta. She felt a surge of energy rushing through her as she sipped the juice from the apricorn. She looked up and saw Davyn was still rubbing the bump on his head. She took the oppurtunity to run it in his face a little. It was only fair.

"Geez. Big fully evolved leafeon. Master of all that is natural and growing. Defeated by a branch!" She laughed.

"Hey!" He protested. "I wasn't beaten by anything!"

"I'm pretty sure the branch won the fight," she took pleasure in seeing his cheeks be the one to turn red this time.

"And you call me the jerk?" He said, looking away from her.

Krysta brushed up against him.

"Just getting back at you, that's all," she said playfully. He looked upset now, but he knew she was only teasing, just like he had.

"Fair enough," he sighed. Firmly, he placed a pawon to krysta's head.

"I may have lost to a branch, but I won't lose to you, short stuff,"

Krysta grumbled, trying to shake him off. Davyn let go and started walking up the trail again.

"Shall we go, my tiny leader? It will be dark soon."

Krysta mumbled a plan of revenge to her self and quickly sprinted to catch up with him.


End file.
